News flash: consistent daily practice pays off
At Lodi I learned a practicing technique for juggling from Matt Hall (what a hero) called the pyramid.
Here's how it works if you don't know it. Pick four numbers i, j, k, and l, such that i < j < k < l. Now make 20 attempts to do i repetitions of your favorite trick. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail, each attempt still counts towards the 20. Then make 10 attempts to do j repetitions, and then 5 attempts of k repetitions and 1 attempt of l repetitions. Do that every day. When all your attempts succeed, increase i, j, k, and l. I cheat a little and increase i, j, k, and l even if nearly all my attempts succeed. So does Matt Hall, so there.
Since last Wednesday, I have been trying this with 3 of my most frustrating juggling patterns: 5 balls, the 561 siteswap, and 3-in-one-hand. Until tonight I wasn't sure it was helping. A lot of my attempts failed, and my numbers of repetitions were disappointingly low (e.g. for 5 balls, 10, 15, 20, and 30 throws). And then tonight, out of the blue, I picked up 5 balls and juggled them for 232 throws. My previous personal best was around 150, and that was months ago!
Yippee! Practicing works!
Here's how it works if you don't know it. Pick four numbers i, j, k, and l, such that i < j < k < l. Now make 20 attempts to do i repetitions of your favorite trick. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail, each attempt still counts towards the 20. Then make 10 attempts to do j repetitions, and then 5 attempts of k repetitions and 1 attempt of l repetitions. Do that every day. When all your attempts succeed, increase i, j, k, and l. I cheat a little and increase i, j, k, and l even if nearly all my attempts succeed. So does Matt Hall, so there.
Since last Wednesday, I have been trying this with 3 of my most frustrating juggling patterns: 5 balls, the 561 siteswap, and 3-in-one-hand. Until tonight I wasn't sure it was helping. A lot of my attempts failed, and my numbers of repetitions were disappointingly low (e.g. for 5 balls, 10, 15, 20, and 30 throws). And then tonight, out of the blue, I picked up 5 balls and juggled them for 232 throws. My previous personal best was around 150, and that was months ago!
Yippee! Practicing works!